Mopping compound



Patented Apr. 6, 1943 MOPPING comonnp William Jr. Liipi'ert, Fort Valley, Ga., assignor to Woolfolk Chemical Works, Limited, Fort Valley, 6a., a partnership No Drawing. Application August 22, 19,40, Serial No. 353,8

2 Claims. (Cl. 167-45) The invention relates to 'a mixture for use in the same day because'iermentatlon releases artreating cotton plants for the destruction of the senate which results in plant injury. boll weevel and the particular object is to provide Bearing these several matters in mind, applisuch material in dry form, ready upon admixture cant devoted his attention to the creation, it with water for use in the so-called mopping 5 possible, of a mixture which would b in dry method. powdered form, that would simply need to be In recent years the so-called mopping method mixed with water to provide a suspension or fluid of fighting the boll weevil on cotton has gained mixture possessing the desired qualities. A num-- the support of experiment stations and its use ber of materials were found to impart the desired has been widely adopted by cotton growers. The physical qualities but the most satisfactory one.

mixture used for this purpose consists of one largely on account of its low. cost. waabentonitc. pound calcium arsenate, one gallon of Black Strap 40% powdered bentonite, 50% calcium arsenate." molasses, and one gallon of water, in which mixand 10% powdered sugar supplies a dry compositure the relation of the arsenate (by weight) to tion which is packageable in bags containing two the water, is about 1:8. This quantity of mixture pounds, each providing a unit to be mixed with represents the amount required for approximately two gallons of water. one acre. The mixture is applied by means of a The cost of such a mixture is manifestly much mop made of rags fastened to the end of a stick less than an equivalent quantity of the molasses or by means of mechanical mopping machines mixture and the time-saving convenience both to l which are designed to achieve the same effect. the user and to the merchant as provided by the Such mopping is customarily started when the dry unit package of this new product represents an young cotton plant has about six leaves and is improvement of real econ'imic importancecontinued at weekly intervals until the weevils A comparison of the P ysical qualities of the are under control or the plants are so large as to new mixture with the thus far standard molasses make mopping impractical. 5 shows/the following:

At the present time there is still a difference (a) Vi8C0sity.--'I'he bentonite mixture is live of opinion as to the merits of a sweet mixture as times more viscous than the molasses mixture. compared with one that is not sweetened, but (b) Adhesive pr p r i s-Leaves dipped in public opinion is preponderantly in favor of the n ni mix r Pi up seven times the ma sweetened mixture. Aside from any value it may terial picked up by the same leaves dipped into possessdue toits sweetness, the molasses increases molasses mixture. There is no loss b drippin the viscosity, thus providing a more suitable mixm the b t ipp d leaf. but 4% lo s from ture from a physical point of view, 1. e., make a the molasses-dipped leaf.

sticky mass that will adhere to the plant. It has (c) Weatheriny.-When subjected to artificial the power to a limited degree of holding and reabrain bentonite mixture loss, 36%; molasses mixsorbing moisture. These are all desirable qualities tureture loss, 98%.

that a moppingmixture should possess. dd) H0m0a n 1l-The behtonite mixture The use of molasses, however, has certain drawshows no appreciable separation after twentybacks: four hours. The molasses mixture shows practi '(l) Expense: Molasses costs from 12 /2 to 25 40 can? complete Settling o 801165 in s tim per gallon, which makes the cost of the condifor the 13811110111 tioner for the mixture from two to four times as fixture; distinctive fermentation is W hin ess much as the cost of the calcium arsenate which is than 24 hours for the molasses mixturethe active ingredient The above qualities indicate the superiority of (2) It is a material to mix and use the new product over the molasses mixture and and creates a dispensing problem for the men iiahese tt ualities are ones that are of considerable chant. A large percentage of the calcium arsenate 2 :3: ggggg i g g of mater m1 designed for used reaches the consumer through the medium In place of calcium arsenate, other arsenical or of the small cross-roads store. These small mer- M poisonous usenates or arsenites having gquivachants are for the most part not in a position to l t 1 oticida1 potency may be used, provided y mol ses in bulk and to repack it and gen rthey are of a character that, when in admixture a y spea they are qu e reluctant in the with about an equal weight of bentonite, the com matter of handling it at all. pound when mixed with water in the proportion (3) The mixture once made has to be used on of approximately two pounds to two gallons will provide a paste possessing the above-described characteristics and which makes said mixture suitable for mopping cotton will satisfy the requirements, but more particularly a mixture as abovedescribed or one made up of approximately 50% calcium arsenate and 50% powdered bent'onite without sugar or other dry sweetening agent ispreferred.

I am aware that mixtures of bentonite and parasiticidal agents have been heretofore proposed for use as a dust or spray or for forming a hard coating on potato seeds and other seeds, but in all such cases there has either been an excess or an insufficient amount of bentonite to make it possible to use such compositions for applicant's purpose of mopping cotton plants. ,Applicants mixture is not designed for use as a spray or dust or for dipping, but for application by hand-mopping or machine-mopping to the growing plants. For such a purpose a mixture which is over-concentrated with respect to bentonite so as to form a hard coating around a cut potato, is out of the a question, and on the other hand a mixture which is so dilute as to be capable of use as a spray necessarily contains altogether too little bentonite to supply the necessary adhesive and viscous qualities which are indispensable in the mopping process. In applicants mixture such factors as adhesiveness, water holding and absorption properties are important but the main point is the production of a homogeneous viscous or pasty mixture with water when used at the customary concentration recommended for the calcium arsenate-molasses-water mixture so that the mixture will possess the requisite characteristics necessary for application to the plants by hand-mopping or machine-mopping.

I claim:

1. A mopping composition in dry form comprising approximately 50% by weight of a powdered arsenical poison and approximately 40% to 50% by weight of powdered bentonite, the powdered arsenical poison and the powdered bentonite being thoroughly commingled in a substantially dry, powdered condition, the particles of arsenical poison'and bentonite in the composition being individual and having substantially the same. chemical and physical characteristics they initially possessed prior to their being commingled and the said bentonite having the power to absorb a sufficient amount of water to form a highly adhesive and viscous paste, said composition being capable of withstanding deterioration for substantially long periods and being capable upon being mixed in the proportion of about one part by weight of the composition to about eight parts by weight of water, of forming a non-sprayable, non-dustable, paste having such high adhesiveness and viscosity as to make it capable of being applied to plants as a thick layer by the mopping method and of being retained on the plants without any substantial loss by dripping and having such homogeneity that there is no appreciable separation of the solids for approximately twenty-four hours, whereby I the arsenical poison and the bentonite can be evenly distributed by the mopping method upon the plants for the destruction 0! plant pests such as the boil weevil.

2. A mopping composition for use in the protection of cotton plants from injury by boll weevils, said .composition containing arsenical poison, water and bentonite having the power to absorb a suflicient amount or water to form a highly adhesive and viscous paste, the weight of bentonite in the composition being equal to approximately from to of the weight of the arsenical poison, and the bentonite and arsenical poison being substantially evenly distributed and together forming approximately 11% by weight of the composition, and said com position forming a non-sprayable, non-dustable paste having such high adhesiveness and viscosity as to make it capable of being applied to plants as a thick layer by a mopping method and of being retained on the plants without any substantial loss by dripping and having such homogeneity that there is no appreciable separation of the solids for approximately twenty-four hours whereby the arsenical poison and bentonite in the composition can be evenly distributed upon the plants by the mopping method.

WILLIAM J. LIIPFERT. 

